Saturday, December 23, 2017

CAMBODIA - travel guide (for solo female travelers)

"...now you can go where people are one
Now you can go where they get things done
What you need my son:
Is a holiday in Cambodia
Where people dress in black
A holiday in Cambodia
Where you'll kiss ass or crack..."

This is an excerpt from the song "Holiday in Cambodia" by the US band "The Dead Kennedys". Being a punk band, the lyrics are ment to grate on you in their very cynical way; and as a matter of fact, Cambodia has always been synonym of murder and destruction and by no means a holiday destination; apart from Angkor, Asia's most important sanctuary, that has been a World Heritage Cultural site since 1992.

While Angkor Wat was always an admired historical and cultural site, the rest of the country was considered a grave yard filled with the victims of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. Four years that pushed the country back into the Stone Age.

Only when my friend Philippe told me about his plans of travelling to Cambodia, I took into consideration that it might be an interesting destination and a country worth exploring. I decided following his example.

Today, Cambodia has a population of about 16 million people and a size of 181.000 sq km (approx. 69,884 sq mi). In general, Cambodia has a Monsoon climate with December being the coolest month (26 C / 79 F).

Until 1953, the country was - together with Laos and Viet Nam - part of the French colony Indochina which certainly triggered the political development in the 20st century and lead to the seizure of power by the 'Khmer Rouge' in 1975:

In 1953, Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy under King Norodom Sihanouk. During the Vietnam war, Sihanouk adopted an official policy of neutrality. However, over the Ho-Chi-Minh-Trail and the eastern support bases, the war finally spread into Cambodia. First only the eastern region was bombed by the US army. Since according to the US government, Sihanouk did not oppose enough to the Việt cộng, in 1970 Cambodia's government was disempowered and replaced by general Lon Nol.

He became president in 1972, supported by South Vietnamese and American troops. This lead to a civil war - comparable to the one in Viet Nam. Therefore the people was initially relieved, believing in a peaceful tomorrow when the Red Khmer conquered Phnom Penh in 1975.
Well this relief didn't last since the Red Khmer under guidance of Pol Pot immediately started their reign of horror: People were chased from the cities to the country side where they had to do forced labour in the fields - with next to nothing to eat since the major part of the crop was shipped to China in exchange for weapons and ammunition.
Everybody who was considered middle or upper class or educated was killed - e. g. for speaking a foreign language or for wearing glasses.

Over the time, Pol Pot became more and more paranoid which more and more people paid with their life. During the four years of the Red Khmer terror, almost one third of Cambodia's population was murdered or starved.

Finally, in 1979, Cambodia was liberated by the Vietnamese army.

Today Cambodia is a Constitutional Monarchy, King is Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen.

People speak Khmer, many a pretty basic English.

Although there is a national currency, the Riel (KHR), mostly prices are quoted in US Dollars. At the ATMs, one can choose between Dollars and Riel, but actually it doesn't make really sense to get Riel since everything is priced in US Dollars - only if you pay let's say 4,50, they give you change for the 50 cents in Riel (2000 KHR).
The current rate is 1 USD = 4,055 KHR, but everybody converts 1:4,000.

Next time...

...if I had only three weeks again, I would possible stay only two days in Phnom Penh, spend at least four or five days in Sok San Beach on Koh Rong and skip Koh Rong Samloem, spend at least three to four days in Kampot (and visit Kep on a day trip and possibly Thansur Bokor, too). If I had more time, I'd try to go to Siem Reap from Phnom Penh by ferry which must be very special.

We just been to Cambodia and have very mixed feelings about it. Some of the things were amazing while others ... I agree with you that 2 days is definitely enough time in Phnom Penh. Kampot was our favourite place and instead of 5 days, we ended up staying 10 days there :D The tip with the USD is a good one. It's not really worth it to get Riel, you get them anyway as change :)

Cambodia has a tragic past. Several sites were forgotten and neglected during this tumultuous past. For the last couple of decades they have opened up, I am so glad about that. I visited Siem Reap and really enjoyed the old temples. Hope I can make it to other cities of Cambodia some day.

Siem Reap is quite different from the rest of the country since there are sooo many tourists.

Like I wrote, to my experience it depends rather on which beach you stay on Koh Rong or Samloem than on the island: Koh Rong has fantastic, deserted beaches e. g. on the western shores, the main part is said to be a dirty dump. So is Saracen beach on Samloem. Unfortunately due to terrible weather conditions I didn't have the chance to visit the nice beaches on Samloem (the boats and ferries couldn't go there since it was too dangerous so I got stuck on Saracen beach). This is a very personal, individual experience and opinion and I'm sure many people will disagree. The best way to find out is to go there ;-)Happy travels, Aleah!

Cambodia is a country I would love to visit, but yes, it has a very tragic history and a lot of bloodshed in its past. My sister spent 3 months volunteering in an orphanage in Phnom Penh, and visited a lot of the country in her time off. She said it was both a sobering (re the memorials dedicated to war) but exceptional (re the world heritage and the natural wonders) experience.

I loved Cambodia! I've been three times. I also love how as an American the dollar was used so much. I would love to go back again and explore more of the country. I've seen a lot but I know there's more to see.

I've heard from people who were there before that it had changed a lot - particularly the touristy regions, of course. So I hope you won't be disappointed when you go back. However, happy travels, Nathan.

Ahhh this is so informative!!! I really enjoyed reading it (despite the dark history) and can't wait to visit someday to experience the historic remnants in person. If only I had 3 weeks of vacation though. I only get 10 days of paid vacations a year at work, otherwise I'd for sure take up on your recommendation for the day/destination allocations!

Ever notice that the former French colonies seem to have the worst social issues? From West Africa to Asia, many of their colonies have had major issues. I am fascinated by the history in Cambodia between Pot and the temples. I would love to spend a couple weeks tracing the history and exploring the country.

Regarding Africa, I'm not sure if the former French colonies are worse than let's say Portuguese and even British. In Asia it's true, they messed up former 'Indochine' big time and let it shattered and vulnerable to civil wars.

Thank you for the sneak peak into the brutal history of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge. I read several books about this before I went to Cambodia four years ago. Anyway, I love that your posts are based on personal experiences. We need more writing like this - pregnant with storytelling and personal pursuits.

Thank you so much, Rye, that's a wonderful, very encouraging compliment! It's good to get this sort of feed back from time to time - I often wonder what others really like to read. I wish you a wonderful New Year and many inspiring trips!

Some great advice here for visiting Cambodia! It's interesting to know it used to mean murder and destruction, the history is very interesting indeed. Your trip seems to have been fantastic though, I will certainly save this for when I go to Cambodia!

Really great informative post, you've included so much information which is so useful, especially as Cambodia isn't a place I know much about. A friend of mine visited Cambodia and it is still one of her favourite places to date! Nikki x

'A holiday in CambodiaWhere you'll kiss ass or crack...' those lyrics did make me laugh but having watched a documentary about Cambodia and its past it saddens me how much of tthe population was killed or starved. I believe there is even a skull cave which shows how they couldn't even bury some of the bodies that is how many people were murdered!

Being a punk band, the Dead Kennedys used strong, cynical lyrics to describe the horror taking place in Cambodia during the Red Khmer regime. One third of the population was murdered or starved.

As I wrote in my 'diary entry' on Phnom Penh and then repeated, the memorial sites are still so horrific that I didn't want to describe them as a tourist "attraction" and especially not posting pictures of skulls. There is a Stupa full of skulls and bones, some still have the rags on them which blindfolded the victims, some of the bones have handcuffs. I felt that if I post a picture of it, it will be sort of sensation mongering - like 'wow, look how horrible this is'. I didn't take any pictures of these things since I felt it wouldn't do the victims justice to be presented in a rather touristy article.My articles are rather entertaining which makes it difficult to deal with these things in an appropriate fashion.

Solo travel is not for everybody. Group travel isn't either. It's great that we are all different and enjoy different ways of travelling - and living, for that matter. From time to time I have the pleasure to travel with my (adult) daughter which is nice, too. I like both - it especially depends on the destination and the activities. However, muy feliz viajes, Stephanie, y prospero ano nuevo!

l would love to explore the whole if Cambodia and that is very cool that you did especially on your own as a female. l definitely want to add Phanom Penh to my bucketlist when l am there and the beach at Koh Rong

Until now I didn't have any major trouble being a solo female traveller anywhere in the world. Parts of Malaysia (the East coast) were a bit unpleasant since they are pretty strict muslims and even though I am not walking around half naked I felt 'disregarded' at times, I noticed that people were talking about me - and not in a curious let alone nice way....Other than that - no problem.

I really didn't know what to expect when I traveled through Cambodia, I had fallen in love with Laos, I didn't have the best of times in Vietnam (I know, I seem to be the only one that didn't) so with Cambodia I just didn't know how it would treat me - I loved it! - you can feel the rich history as soon as you cross the border, we actually went to the killing fields and wow I have never been moved so much, and the Cambodian people are so friendly considering what they have been through. This is a great post on educating your readers of it's history, and I think it's important people understand the history of Cambodia before they go. - tweeting this post too :D

Thank you, I really appreciate it. Well, of course the history is horrible - and I cannot really judge how far it still has an impact on today's Cambodia; mind you, it happend fourty years ago, that's almost two generations; I really don't know in how far the country is still suffering from that rapture. However, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries I've been to - if not the poorest one. Yes, people are very friendly, but nowhere have I been screwed over so often and so ruthlessly. Mixed feelings. Compared to Viet Nam....from my impression, communism in Viet Nam did build up, communism in Cambodia only destroyed. I think you and me both are people who observe and think when travelling - I like that a lot!

welcome to the world through my eyes

I'm Renata - part time flashpacker and poverty jetsetter. Travelling the world - mostly solo - in search of inspiring encounters, stunning art and great opportunities to learn and to grow. Let me take you with me around the globe!